Once Upon His Gentle Eyes
by Kagaya Chou
Summary: Having embraced the consequences of his past actions, Kilik may slip back, but only far enough to know there is no other direction he can step into, except forward. [shounen ai]


Once Upon His Gentle Eyes  
  
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Ratings: PG  
  
Genre: Horror  
  
Length: Oneshot... or more?  
  
Tagline: Having embraced the consequences of his past actions, Kilik may slip back, but only far enough to know there is no other direction he can step into, except forward.   
  
Comments: I wrote this at 6AM (insomnia) for an "Hour Fic Challenge": Any Soul Calibur pairing (if any) in yaoi or yuri, any rating, & must contain the line, "Would I lie to you?" Good to be writing something at least.  
  
Disclaimer: Soul Calibur I & II belong to Namco Ltd. No profit will be made out of this fan fiction. No copyright infringement was intended.   
  
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"Kilik!" Relief flooded Maxi as he entered through the front entrance of the crumbling temple, his eyes immediately drawn by the fire in the middle and bare-chested young man meditating behind it. Dispite the bad memories these walls contained, Maxi knew he would find his old friend at least paying his dues to the fallen at Ling-Sheung Su. He wanted to reach out, move closer and drown in those gentle brown eyes again, "Finally, I've found..." His words faltered, perhaps because of the haunting shadows that slithered against Kilik's lean muscles, or the reflection of dancing flames in his opening eyes.   
  
"Maxi... What brings you here?" There might have been a welcoming smile on the young man's face if not for the calculated look in his cool gaze. Maxi felt as though he was being slowly undressed: first his boots, his white vest, the sash at his waist that held up his pants, and then his skin.   
  
He gulped, and reminded himself to speak. "I wanted to see you. I remember... everything... with You and Xianghua..." Kilik listened but only responded, blinked at the mention of her name. "I haven't heard any news of where she might be yet, but I knew that you'd be here."   
  
"I see," Kilik looked away to the side under the weight of his stare. He remained crosslegged on the stone floor just a few feet in front of him, but Maxi felt he was still searching half way around the world for his old friend.   
  
For a moment, it looked like Kilik had something to confess, but Maxi couldn't stand the silence, "What's happened to you?"   
  
Those Siren eyes focused on him once more, Kilik's face facinatingly unreadable. "Enough to last me an entire lifetime." His lips quirked as he spoke, and private laughter flickered through his eyes. It was like seeing a shadow of his former self. "And you, old friend? How have you been?" The inflections in Kilik's voice betrayed little of his thoughts, as though the smile on his face was merely there for diplomacy.  
  
"Fine!" Maxi's responce came out more harshly than he intended, but Kilik only seemed mildly amused, even curious. "I just... I would have thought that you've be more happy to see me," he explained.   
  
"I am," but Kilik always held tight control over himself, and after 5 years, Maxi could no longer tell whether there was honesty in his eyes. "Forgive me, but you know how bad I am with showing my feelings."   
  
Maxi used to know Kilik, he thought, but looking at that eerily calm smile now, he wasn't quite so sure. Maxi shook his head, frowned. "What's wrong with you?"   
  
"Nothing," Kilik's face suddenly seemed drained of emotion. Maxi felt a chill down his back seeing his old friend's deadening eyes. Kilik tilted his head slightly, eyeing him with wary look, "You must be tired from your journey. There's no need to worry about me. Come rest. Talk with me. "   
  
There was an authoritative tone in his voice that Maxi instinctively rebelled against. He didn't budge, just staring at this stranger.   
  
Kilik continued, after a moment of utter silence, "I *am* happy to see you." When Maxi stayed where he was, he rose fluidly and bridged gap between them, walking over. Slowly, as though he did not want to frighten the man away, Kilik rested a hand upon Maxi's cheek and stroked it softly.   
  
Maxi fought the urge to lean into his touch. It was meant to be comforting, he was sure, but it wasn't entirely. He tensed when Kilik brushed his thumb over his lips. Now that they were standing so close, his eyes shied away, not daring to look into Kilik's.   
  
When Maxi looked about the room, he realized his eyes had somewhat adjusted to the surrounding dimness. The longer he looked, the more shapes he could make out. He hesitated as he could now see old sets of skeletons, some with a missing head or limbs. They had been carefully propped up in rows along either side of the room like the tiny Buddhist statues that had been painstakingly etched by the monks who used to live in these walls.   
  
However, there was little peace to be gained from those icons of enlightenment, for all their glorious detail had been lost to the shadows. There were recently-sharpened metal blades and wrought iron poles that had been polished so that they seemed to shimmer and glint red and white by firelight. The windows were all shut, darkness reinforced by planks of wood, and the bones - the bits he could see - were stark and muddy grey like someone had taken the time to chisel away what had once been rotting on top.   
  
Kilik had been speaking when Maxi tore his eyes back to the younger man. "...really remember us? Do you remember what you said when you fought Astaroth off... so Xianghua and I could reach Soul Edge?"   
  
Maxi nodded barely, not trusting his voice. The movement only rubbed his lips more, and he recalled stealing a kiss from Kilik, their first and last, before he pushed the young man away. 'I should have told you sooner,' he had said, 'but give me an answer when we get out of this alive.' He blushed with discomfort - though he wasn't sure how much of it was from his previous actions, or their current surroundings and what his old friend had done for decor, no - tribute.  
  
"Did you mean it?" Suddenly, it felt like he was sinking in Kilik's velvet dark eyes. He hadn't even noticed looking away a second time. Since when had those eyes seemed so... black, like a void waiting to be filled?   
  
"Of course." He placed his hand over Kilik's, pressing his lips softly against that open palm without looking away, "Would I lie to you?"  
  
The younger man chuckled and shook his head. "I believe you." Kilik leaned up, moving his hand out of Maxi's as he kissed him back gently on those lips. There was a dry taste to it, like ash and... Kilik turned away.   
  
"Wait!" Maxi reached out and pulled him into a firm embrace. He felt the younger man stiffen initially before relaxing back into him with a sigh.   
  
As if it had just occured to him, Kilik murmured. "How did you regain your memory?"   
  
"I fought that Freak again," Maxi automatically replied. "I... saw you fight this Inferno creature... Then there was a horrible explosion where you were - knocked me out cold." He wanted to pull Kilik into him, as if afraid to lose him to those corpses all around if he let go. He trembled as he thought, Kilik could have ended up like them. "When I came to, I couldn't find you... I thought you died!"   
  
"I'm here," Kilik's voice, his scent, his physical presence, soothed Maxi's frayed nerves. "I'm alive... and you knew," he paused. "How did you know?"  
  
Maxi took a few breathes, squeezing his eyes shut as he tried to get some ghastly image out of his head. "I saw what was left of that sword... that... Soul Edge. Those muscles, all shrivelled and dried up like a prune - and that demon eye in the center, it was blank and blacked out like y-"   
  
He gasped, "Kilik?" His arms laxed around the younger man, "What did you do?"   
  
"I destroyed Soul Edge," Kilik walked away from him, not looking back, and Maxi let him. Whatever warmth he had felt from his old friend dissipated fast as the man leaned down to pick up his bo. That was when Maxi really saw it: the pulsing evil Kilik held in his grasp. For a moment, he forgot to breathe, watching as the young man wrapped his fingers over waxy tendons and vein. There was a round bulge down the middle of his rod, and a small vertical slit that fluttered with life, acknowledging Kilik's touch.  
  
"And this is the result of sucking its energy into the Kali-Yuga," he held the corrupted staff close in an almost-defensive gesture.   
  
"No," Maxi uttered in disbelief. "What did you do to... What did it do to you?"   
  
"I told you, Maxi. I destroyed Soul Edge." Kilik looked over his shoulder at him and it was more obvious than before, that look in his eyes - behind his icy control, was darkness raging for freedom. "Would I ever lie to you?" 


End file.
